"Are you hurt? Ana, look at me. Look at me," my overprotective friend repeatedly scanned me for injury. "I'm fine, Paul; really." "No, you are not fine." Oh boy, here we go. Paul didn't even acknowledge Mr. Gorgeous's presence; his eyes were firmly locked onto me, him squatting in such a position that we were level.
"What were you doing out alone, Ana? And after dark too." "I just walking home from Daddy's. I didn't think anything would happen." "But something did happen. You were attacked, Anastasia. Don't you get it? It's just simply not safe out there; particularly in that area. It's infamous for this gang. You've probably never heard of them, but they're called the Dollars, and they're dangerous." "Uh, right…." I inwardly cringed at the irony of it all. Mr. Gorgeous tisked softly and planted his hands on his hips.
"Why are you telling her this? No gang you name is going to mean anything to her." We both blinked over to Mr. Gorgeous, who was very unimpressed with Paul's behavior up until now; I could read it in his face. Paul immediately straightened and the two men studied each other for a second. I sat in between them quiet for a moment, gazing back and forth at one another. Paul's frown was equally unimpressed as Mr. Gorgeous's.
"Who are you?" "I'm the man who stopped the assault," Mr. Gorgeous didn't skip a beat, keeping his face firm and fixed. Paul's expression followed suit. "Have you made a statement?" "Yes." "Good, then you can leave. I'll take care of things from here," Paul didn't hide the venom in his tone. I have no clue why these guys seemed to automatically hate each other; they didn't even know the other at all. Oh man, the look on Mr. Gorgeous's face just now….. He's not going anywhere.
Paul also saw the determination in Mr. Gorgeous's eyes. But before my savior could get in a word, Paul reached down to yank up my hand. "Come on, Ana. We're going to the hospital." "Uh! Um! W-wait! Wait a minute, Paul!" I struggled- in vain- to free myself from his iron-clad grasp. I also thought Mr. Gorgeous's head was going to explode.
We were stopped within seconds by the office door sliding open once more. One of the previous cops- the older gentleman- entered, blinking rather confused at the scene. "Uh, detective?" He asked Paul; he was holding the cup of water Mr. Gorgeous asked them to get me. Is it wise for the daughter of a mob lord to have a police detective as a close friend? Probably not, but I trusted Paul; that, and he clearly didn't know anything. Paul scowled and motioned to Mr. Gorgeous with his shoulder, not even looking back at the man.
"He's filed a statement. See him out, please." "I… I don't understand; I thought we were supposed to send a copy of the report to his lawyer? And here's your water by the way, Miss Steele," with a friendly smile, he handed me the cup. "Thank you," I grinned thankfully back at him. All eyes shifted from me back onto Paul, who still had my other hand in his. "Um, where are you going with Miss Steele? Aren't we taking her to the hospital?" "That's what I'm doing, Jones. She's had a long night; I don't want her to wait longer. So if you excuse us….."
"What?! You're not going, are you? We need your help with the report, Clayton. Let Doyle take her; you need to stay here." "But I…" "I don't like being ordered around, detective Clayton," with his arms securely at his sides, Mr. Gorgeous came over to stand with us; he and Paul were glaring daggers. I wonder if this is a macho thing. Kind of like a male show-off? But if so, why here and why now? Didn't make sense to me. Or maybe I had it totally wrong- who knows.
"You take orders from police in a police station, "sir"," Paul emphasized his "sir". Oh gees, Paul; can't we be mature about this? I mean we're all grownups here. If looks could kill….. Mr. Gorgeous was not having any of this either. "I have the right to leave when I think it is appropriate to do so. I will go after I see Miss Steele off to the hospital safely." "I can do that. There's no reason for you to stay." "So wait? Should I warm up the wagon to go then?" Officer Doyle raised his hand up a little. Uh, weren't all of these guys forgetting about something? Namely what I thought of the situation; I am the party they are wasting time arguing about, after all. Plus I didn't think there was anything wrong with me really; I was just really, really tired.
"Or I could just go home?" "No," I was immediately shot down by all males in the room. Oh boy, this was something like out of a novel; it was getting so ridiculous. They all somehow forgot that I'm a twenty-eight year old woman; not a eight year old child. But this was the Victorian era, after all; insert inward eye roll. "Don't worry, I'll take Miss Steele. Come with me, dear," Officer Doyle then grinned back at me. "But…." "Go with him, Ana." "Yes, and do whatever the doctors prescribe." Oh look, they're finally agreeing on something. But I knew this harmony was not to last. Then again, maybe it didn't matter; I'd likely never see Mr. Gorgeous again after tonight. The idea made my lips part open a sliver. That's right; I'll walk outside this room and never see him again…. My savoir- the Adonis with the stunning sapphire eyes.
"Thank you again, sir," my mouth said without my brain's permission. When he didn't say anything to this, electing instead to watch me incredulously, my smile simply grew. Don't worry, Mr. Gorgeous. "Thank you for saving me tonight." I don't know your name, but I won't forget you. You or your beautiful, blue eyes.